Title
Recognizing Chief Todd Axtell’s career with the City of Saint Paul and congratulating him on retirement.
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WHEREAS, Todd Axtell has dedicated more than three decades of his professional life to public service and the City of Saint Paul, Minn.; and
WHEREAS, Todd Axtell has devoted his career to the honorable and noble profession of law enforcement, including 33 years with the Saint Paul Police Department and the last six as Chief of Police for Minnesota’s capital city; and
WHEREAS, Chief Axtell has championed trust, transparency, community engagement, diversity, and the highest levels of accountability throughout his career while leading a law enforcement agency charged with protecting the peace and maintaining public safety; and
WHEREAS, under Chief Axtell’s leadership, the Saint Paul Police Department as a model of excellence-known for delivering “trusted service with respect”-that is emulated and admired throughout the state and country; and
WHEREAS, during Chief Axtell’s tenure at the helm of the SPPD, he instituted innovative training programs focused on ethical policing, moral courage, de-escalation and officer wellness, setting a standard that aligns with community values and exceeds state requirements; and
WHEREAS, Chief Axtell led successful efforts to increase the diversity of law enforcement professionals through recruitment programs including Junior Police Academies, the development of the Law Enforcement Career Path Academy; and engagement with Saint Paul’s diverse communities, which are traditionally underrepresented in law enforcement, resulting in a 41 percent increase in the number of diverse employees in the SPPD over the past six years; and
WHEREAS, Under Chief Axtell’s leadership, the Saint Paul Police Department has used lower levels of force than ever before, reduced civil payouts to record lows, publicly shared more data than ever, and engaged the community at historic levels, further establishing itself as a na...
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